Camas senior Cohen Butler sets multiple course records

It takes a rare cross country runner to reach the end of a 5,000-meter race and see 14 minutes on the clock.

Cohen Butler saw that multiple times this season. But running blazing-fast times wasn’t the biggest thrill for the Camas senior.

Winning races drove Butler. Breaking course records was just an extra benefit during what was the most outstanding performance by any Northwest high school runner this season.

“The times are awesome, but the win shows more about your fitness and who you’re competing against,” Butler said.

Butler capped his high school cross country career by breaking the Class 4A record at the state meet by nearly 10 seconds. His time of 14 minutes, 47.9 seconds on Nov. 8 in Pasco was the sixth-fastest time across all classifications in state meet history.

On Oct. 11, Butler also broke a meet record at the prestigious Nike Hole in the Wall XC Invitational. His time of 14:36.8 beat a mark set the previous year by Mercer Island’s Owen Powell, who owns the fastest mile ever run by the high schooler from Washington.

For his accomplishments, Butler is the Columbian’s All-Region boys cross country runner of the year for a second time.

Ironically, the only race this season Butler didn’t win showed him the year might be special. He broke 15 minutes for the first time when he placed fourth in the elite Danner Championships at Nike Portland XC on Sept. 26.

As a junior, Butler ran 15:08 at that same event. He then battled midseason injuries, eventually placing fifth at the state meet.

With the finish line in sight during the final 250 meters, Butler could hardly believe he wasn’t just going to break 15 minutes, but go well below it. He crossed the line in 14:40.8, a personal-best by 28 seconds.

“I was just baffled,” Butler said. “I was a little star struck. … I saw the time and was like what in the world am I doing?”

That breakthrough was four years in the making. Once a slender freshman, Butler has grown into a physique that can handle the rigors of high mileage. After winning the 4A state track title in the 3,200 meters last spring, Butler averaged about 60 miles of running per week over the summer.

That workload increased to 80 miles per week during this cross country season.

“All those little things I’ve been doing, like getting more sleep, increasing milage, doing harder workouts have started to pile up,” Butler said. “Now especially they’re starting to show.”

At Hole in the Wall, a meet in Arlington known for fast times and top-flight fields, Butler proved his Nike Portland XC race wasn’t a fluke.

“Me and my coach had been talking about it the whole week — We’re going to race there to win,” Butler said. “We knew what Owen Powell’s course record was. It was definitely a goal of mine, but I was more going out there with the mindset of I’m going out there to win.”

Butler followed that with victories at the District 4 meet and the bi-district Westside Classic.

At the state meet, Butler went through the first mile in 4:34.9. That gave him a five-second cushion in a race he led wire-to-wire.

“I was hoping to demonstrate to myself that I can compete in a championship-style race even without people around me,” Butler said. “I can go out fast and still hang on.”

One week after state, Butler added to his accolades by winning the NXR Northwest Regional Championship in Spokane. His time of 14:36.8 tied his personal best in race that gathered top high school runners from across the region.

On Dec. 6, Butler will compete at the Nike Cross Nationals at Glendoveer Golf Course in Portland.